The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on April 30 announced the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be played in the US and West Indies. One of the key comments from the team was Rinku Singh. The swashbuckling finisher was not named in the 15-member Indian squad despite being on the reserve list alongside Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan. The idea of the selectors dropping Rinku surprised many former cricketers and experts of the game.
Rinku made his India debut in a T20I match against Ireland in 2023. So far, he has played 15 matches in the format and scored 356 runs at a strike rate of 176.24. The left-hander played his last T20I match for India in January 2024, against Afghanistan.
Former Indian cricketer Rohan Gavaskar was unhappy with the selection committee's decision to drop Rinku, while another ex-Indian player Virender Sehwag tried to understand the rationale behind the call.
“If IPL 2024 is the benchmark, where did Mohammed Siraj pick wickets for RCB? Suryakumar Yadav… he was always in my team, and he should be there in the T20 World Cup too. But even he hasn't performed (for MI ),” Rohan Gavaskar said on Cricbuzz.
“Some players go there because of their reputation. Like Suryakumar, he has a reputation of being an explosive hitter. Yes, he can have bad days. Rinku Singh is also similar to him, the difference is that he is young and Suryakumar is experienced. And Indian selectors prefer experience. Rinku is young, he can play later too,” said Virender Sehwag.
“We said after the last World Cup that Rohit and Virat will not play in 2024, but this time I am sure they will not play the next World Cup,” Sehwag said.
India squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.
Reservations –Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan
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